The BACK spread widened, putting slight pressure on the SHFE copper premium. Downstream stocking sentiment is about to kick off. [SMM Shanghai spot copper]

SMM April 24 News:

       Today, the spot prices of SMM #1 copper cathode against the SHFE copper 2505 contract were reported at a premium of 150-200 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 175 yuan/mt, up 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The price of SMM #1 copper cathode ranged from 78,030 to 78,200 yuan/mt. In the morning session, SHFE copper briefly rose to 78,000 yuan/mt before pulling back, with the price spread between futures contracts narrowing to around 250 yuan/mt. The import loss for the current month's SHFE copper remained around 500 yuan/mt.

       In the morning session, suppliers maintained yesterday's quotations, but as the backwardation structure widened, some suppliers began to offload goods at lower prices, coinciding with traders' stockpiling needs for next week. The low-price transactions dragged down the overall transaction center. During the main trading session, standard-quality copper traded at a premium of 150-170 yuan/mt, while imported Jin Feng and other sources traded at a premium of 140 yuan/mt. High-quality copper was in short supply, but there were a few low-priced Jinchuan (plate) sources, with overall transactions at a premium of 170-200 yuan/mt. SX-EW copper was scarce, with non-registered sources trading at a premium of around 90 yuan/mt, and lower-quality sources at a premium of 30-60 yuan/mt.

      Looking ahead to tomorrow, downstream buying sentiment is expected to improve on Friday, and with the upcoming Labour Day holiday next week, downstream stockpiling demand is anticipated. Suppliers are likely to maintain firm premiums, but attention should be paid to arbitrageurs who may rush to offload goods at lower prices.